Such a pressure-compensation device is known from EP 2 554 882 A1. The known pressure-compensation device is provided to compensate an internal pressure in a housing, an electrochemical device being arranged inside the housing. The gas-permeable membrane can deform according to changes in the internal pressure and preferably consists of a PTFE material. The membrane normally allows pressure compensation between the inner side and the outer side. In the event of an undesirably excessive internal pressure in the housing, the membrane is destroyed by a spike which is designed as an emergency degassing element. The destroyed membrane releases the gas opening for emergency degassing of the housing. This provides burst protection for the housing.
It is emphasized that it is essential for the known pressure-compensation device to be based on the concept according to which the functions of pressure compensation and emergency degassing are combined, while having a simultaneously high stability with respect to a water pressure from outside, in only one single component, namely the PTFE membrane which can be destroyed as required.
Using two different components, namely a first component for pressure compensation in the event of pressure fluctuations in normal operation, and a second component for emergency degassing as required, is explicitly considered to be disadvantageous.